This invention relates broadly to a cleat for an athletic shoe, such as a golf shoe, which may be removably secured to a ground engageable heel and/or sole of the shoe or may be integrally formed on and with the heel and/or sole. More specifically, the invention relates to a cleat constructed of soft, wear resistent, flexible, resilient material, such as polyurethane, which includes a plurality of at least partially cone shaped teeth disposed in a closed circle around an outer peripheral portion of a disc shaped base.
Broadly speaking, generally disc shaped cleats which are removably secured to a ground engageable portion of a shoe have long been known and used in the prior art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,793 issued to E. I. Deacon et al. on Nov. 29, 1994. The cleat of Deacon is of interest in that it includes a disc with a plurality of raised, arc shaped ribs arrayed in an open circle about on broad surface of the disc such that there are gaps between adjacent ribs. The other broad surface of the disc is dished and contains a projecting threaded stud for being secured to the sole and/or heel of a shoe. Both the dish shaped disc and the ribs are constructed of relatively rigid, non-deformable material.
Replaceable cleats containing a single, relatively rigid cone shaped spike have also long been known in the prior art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,366 issued to L.D. Hagger on Feb. 9, 1988. Also, cleats which are integral with the sole of an athletic shoe are known in the prior art. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,858 issued to W. T. Bowerman et al. on Aug. 22, 1978.
All of the foregoing prior art cleats are made of relatively rigid, inelastic materials. None are made of a soft, wear resistant, flexible, resilient material. While the Deacon et al. and Bowerman et al. patents contain a plurality of raised ribs and ground engaging pins, respectively, the ribs are spaced apart from one another as are the pins. While the ribs are arrayed in a circle about a central axis, the pins are arrayed in an arc, an L-shape and a straight line, but not a circle. In no case do the ribs or pins adjoin adjacent or neighboring ribs or pins, respectively, along base portions thereof.
The cleat of my invention does not include these structural characteristics, by reason of which it will not damage golf greens and, yet, can hold well on both closely cropped golf course fairways and in the relatively high grass of roughs adjacent to golf course fairways. Moreover, the cleat of my invention does not tend to dislodge pieces or clumps of dirt from holes or depressions formed by the teeth thereof when bearing upon a golf green and when, thereafter, being removed from such a green.